BAKEL, The Netherlands – New top execuives and board members have been appointed for GEA Convenience-Food Technologies, a part of the Düsseldorf-based GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, effective Feb. 1. The board member changes reflect the company’s desire to capitalize on opportunities the protein food market segment offers, the company relayed in a statement.

“The growth of the global population and the increasing demand for high-quality food provide us with many opportunities to increase our business,” said Dirk Hejnal, new segment president of GEA Convenience-Food Technologies. “I am really looking forward to further developing our business and contributing to the strategic direction to expand the food process technology activities of the GEA Group.”

In addition to Hejnal, three other new executives and board members were appointed: Dr. Hans-Jörg Harth, chief financial officer; Dr. Marco Gandini, chief operations officer; and Michael Kämpfert, vice president of human resources and legal affairs.

“I am confident we have the people in our company with the ability to meet our customers’ needs for any application. With a continued focus on innova-tion and performance, the future at GEA Convenience-Food Technologies is bright,” Hejnal concluded.

Hejnal, 45, joined GEA in 1986 and has been president of the GEA Farm Technologies segment since 2008. Harth, 40, joined GEA in 2003 and has served as head of group reporting at GEA Group Holding since 2007. After joining GEA Niro Soavi in Parma (Italy) in 1993, Gandini, 44, has served as the company's managing director since 2008 and has been on the management board of the GEA Mechanical Engineering segment since 2010. Kämpfert, 46, who joined GEA Group in 1996, will continue temporarily as head of corporate human resources of GEA Group in addition to his new title. Kämpfert has served on the Supervisory Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft as elected representative of the executives since 2006.

GEA CFS specializes in performance-focused solutions for the food industry, from single machines to complete production lines for the preparation, marination, processing, slicing and packaging primarily of meat, poultry, fish, seafood and cheese-based products. GEA Group AG is one of the world’s largest suppliers of process technology and components for the food and energy industries.